AGE OF AUTISM

AAP Spokesperson Dr. Karp Speaks of World Wide Rise in Autism

By Anne Dachel

Huffington Post is running two major autism stories today.  Plesae comment on both over at HuffPo, links are below.

First is David Kirby's article "Tidal Wave" of Young Adults with Autism about to Flood Cash-strapped California" (HERE) about the looming generation of adults with autism and it points to the undeniable truth...

A once rare disorder has impacted hundreds of thousands of our children who are rapidly reaching adulthood.  As adults, they will be dependent on the U.S. taxpayers for their support and care.  For years, as the autism numbers exploded, our federal health agencies pretended that nothing was wrong.  Organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics congratulated doctors for "better diagnosing" to account for the children everywhere with autism.  No matter how bad the numbers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has adamantly refused to admit that there has been any real increase. 

In the second piece, Cracking the Autism Riddle: Toxic Chemicals, a Serious Suspect in the Autism Outbreak, (CLICK HERE TO COMMENT AT HUFFPO) assistant professor of pediatrics, UCLA, Dr. Harvey Karp, here billed as, "America's most read pediatrician," makes a stunning break from the official denials.  Karp publicly admits that there has been a "WORLDWIDE RISE IN AUTISM."  

This has got to be sending shock waves through the medical community.  Karp is a regular speaker at AAP events around the U.S. and I have to wonder what their reaction is going to be.  If "America's most read pediatrician" admits a real increase, the pretense about autism being a solely genetic disorder, can't be true.   Lots of people in high places have gone on the record holding fast to the claim that we've always had so many autistic kids everywhere, we just didn't call it autism.  

When the CDC finally got around to releasing the update on the autism rate to one in every 150 children/one in every 94 boys in Feb. 2007 (based on outdated study numbers from 2000 and 2002), they did so still denying any real increase.

David Kirby on HuffPo: Adults with Autism, Tidal Wave Coming

Please click HERE to comment on David Kirby's post at HuffPo on the tidal wave of adults with autism looming over us. You know the deniers will be there in force telling everyone to expect candy and flowers as our kids age out.  KS

Appeals Court to Vaccine Court: Don’t be a Putz!

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

Nobody was more surprised by the decisions in Cedillo, Hazlehurst, and Snyder than me.  It wasn’t just that the decisions went against the theory of vaccines causing autism.  I understood how controversial this claim was, and the proof which would probably be needed to sustain it. 

What shocked me was the tone of the opinions, the vitriol against a position which sought to explain a disease which has confounded the medical establishment.  These three public test cases in the Omnibus Autism Proceeding were supposed to give guidance regarding the nearly 5,000 cases filed in the Vaccine Court alleging autism and other neurological problems resulting from vaccinations.  The decisions undercut all of those pending cases.

But away from the glare of media scrutiny the decisions made privately were much different. There was the government concession in the Poling case, in which the government doctors conceded that the nine shots Hannah Poling received in a single doctor’s visit reacted with an underlying mitochondrial disorder leading to her seizures and autism.  Closely following that decision was the win in the Bailey Banks case in which the court found that a vaccine had caused that child’s Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD is often used interchangeably with autism) due to an encephalopathy. 

Legislation Introduced to Require First Comparative Study of Vaccinated vs. Unvaccinated Populations

EDITOR'S NOTE: Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York, one of the best friends autism families have in Washington, has just reintroduced the bill to authorize a study of health outcomes in vaccinated vs. never-vaccinated Americans. We at Age of Autism have a particular interest in this bill, which is sometimes called the Amish Bill for the reporting we've done on the apparently low incidence of autism in less-vaccinated populations like the Amish (HERE). The list of co-sponsors appears to be growing, and includes a Kennedy and the Chair of the House Science and Technology Committee. Stay tuned, and keep up the pressure. -- Dan Olmsted

WASHINGTON, DC – MALONEY REINTRODUCES BILL TO STUDY NEVER-VACCINATED

Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Christopher Smith (R-NJ) have introduced the “Comprehensive Comparative Study of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Populations Act of 2009,” HR 3069, (HERE) legislation that would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a comprehensive, peer-reviewed, comparative study of vaccinated and unvaccinated populations, which has never before been completed.

“Vaccines have been instrumental in reducing the incidence of many once-common diseases, but we owe it to parents and children to study and resolve the questions that have arisen over the possible link between vaccines and neurological disorders,” said Maloney.  “What is ultimately needed to resolve this issue is a comprehensive national study comparing outcomes between vaccinated and unvaccinated children.  As the most scientifically advanced country in the world, we should be jumping at the chance to resolve the questions that have been raised.  Parents deserve answers, and children deserve no less than absolute certainty and safety.” 

Dan Mulvaney, Adult with Autism, Graduates (New York Times)

Congratulations to our dear friend and contributor Barbara Fischkin, her husband Jim Mulvaney and to recent high school graduate Dan Mulvaney. Read the full article in the NYT HERE.

The invitation for Dan Mulvaney’s graduation Sunday showed a burly young man with a hipster’s goatee wearing a graduation cap (courtesy of Photoshop) and holding a real striped bass he caught in the bay behind Long Beach High School.

It read: “ ’Twas said that by teaching a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime.

“Dan Mulvaney has learned to fish, learned to cook and accomplished many things. Dan is ready to take on the world. Join us in celebration of his graduation, with honor, from Long Beach High School.”

It concluded: “Casual cuisine, beach-friendly dress code, indescribable pride.”

14 Studies Part 3: Ladies and Gentlemen, Take Your Positions

By Julie Obradovic

Part 3 in the 14 Studies Series

Okay, we’re almost ready to begin.

As you know, there are very distinct positions regarding Autism; what it is, what causes it, and whether or not it is treatable. If you are reading this, chances are pretty good you know what your position is.

But just as it was important to define the true issue of the debate (Part 1) and the context in which it is taking place (Part 2), it is equally important to clearly define the positions of the parties involved (Part 3).  From there we will be able to analyze some of the research that has been done to support or discredit them.

Position 1: Autism is a Treatable, Medical Disease

People who take this position believe the first problem with Autism is its name. Autism by definition in one dictionary means “preference for fantasy over reality”, an inexplicable cluster of behaviors and symptoms that manifest for some unknown reason. (That particular definition makes it sound like it's even a choice.) It is categorized as a psychological disorder.

“Tidal Wave” of Young Adults with Autism about to Flood Cash-Strapped California

By David Kirby

Broke California will begin the new decade with crushing debt and wholesale elimination of human services. Meanwhile, President Obama has rankled Congressional Democrats with plans to earmark millions of dollars in NIH funds to find the causes and cures of autism.

Are these two things related? You bet they are.

Barack Obama is not a stupid man. He sees the budgetary train wreck hurtling down the track towards the US Treasury. His Administration knows that the number of adults with autism in this country is about to explode. Parents can’t foot the bill, so taxpayers will have to. The price tag will be stratospherical.

Isn’t it better to earmark millions in autism research funds right now for NIH to identify the causes of autism – despite outcries from Rep. Obey, Sen. Harkin and others – in order to save hundreds of billions further down the road?

It’s called frontloading the budget, and if we don’t do it, the coming army of young adults with autism will march in and break the bank.

Age of Autism Adds Military Category

By Angela Warner

I have been reading Age of Autism since it’s inception as Rescue Post. I am proud of Age of Autism. I’ve witnessed incredible growth of the world’s only autism daily web newspaper both in the information put forth, and in the readership and the ensuing dialogue in comments. I am especially proud of Age of Autism for embracing and opening the door, for the mutual support of both the military and civilian communities with regard to all things autism. It is an honor to share that Age of Autism will have a new category; the Military Category.

As a military spouse who has been contributing to Age of Autism since it was Rescue Post, I am especially thrilled. We’ve seen growth here at Age of Autism, but we’ve also seen growth of the autism epidemic both in the military and civilian community. We’ve also seen a rise in the challenges, or problems, that come along with this heartbreaking rise. In the military community the most recent FOIA shows that as of 2007, one in every eighty-eight military dependent child of an active duty member has autism. This figure most likely doesn’t include my own boys because of how and when the stats for the FOIA were tracked. Currently we’re waiting on new statistics.

Age of Autism Comment of the Week

Congrats to "Linda", our commenter of the week.  She commented on THIS  post: When my son was about 13 months old he was given the measles vaccine, within days he had diarrhoea, which went on until he was 13 years old!!  I was told I was neurotic by our doctor until eventually, after 12 years, the Children's hospital (who had been treating Adam for 'tummy ache') did tests and found out he had Crohn's disease!!  I didn't like the treatment we had had, or the steroids Adam was taking, and I found a Kinesiologist (by sheer fluke) who treated Adam for 3 months, changed his diet, weaned him from his steroids & miraculously my son was back!! He grew 13 inches and gained 30lbs in 4 months & now fitted in with his peer group. He is now 26 years old and loves life!!!My point is: Vaccines in babies cause untold problems. Wait until they are a little older and maybe their immune systems are better equipped to deal with what doctors insist will keep them healthy!Our Kinesiologist was adamant that Autism could be safely treated with Kinesiology.Best regards. A mother who would do things so differently if I could go back in tim.

Linda, email me at KimStagliano@gmail.com with your address and if you want L or XL.

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You Don't Say - But Maybe You Should

By Robin Nemeth

We were at a Memorial Day weekend cookout.
 
"You don't have to talk to people," which really means ‘there isn't much opportunity for chit chat'. I think that was my niece, who knows the restaurant business somewhat well, talking about my oldest child and her summer job making salads at the local restaurant.
 
The fact that it was said didn't bother me all that much, although it would've been better said correctly. For with all jobs, every last one that I can think of off of the top of my head at any rate, there is a need to converse. But that's ok, it's just merely a matter of semantics, the mistake that my niece made.
 
What bothered me a bit more was the look that I saw on the face of another person seated at the table, and then the looks that were exchanged. That, to me, was the social faux pas. I always find it somewhat ironic when I am aware of the social faux pas of others. The look said "Ack, this is uncomfortable, we shouldn't be bringing this up!" The look said there is something shameful in the fact that my children, some of them, don't make casual conversation much or at all.  It was the kind of look that one might see if one of my children had syphilis or were in prison for committing some horrible crime and that were brought up as a topic of public conversation. I don't remember if any of my children were present, at the time. But they had been at the table earlier and could easily have been nearby observing the conversation. And ‘the look'.